– Big thanks again to North Central Cyclery, Half Acre Cycling, and Robots Powered by Love for hosting yet another great event at Hopkins Park. If you couldn’t make it out to Dekalb for a stupendously wonderful Autumn day to watch the races be sure to check out all of the pix and vids posted here.

– Congratulations to James Lalonde (Chicago.CX) and Christina Peck (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew) who won this year’s installment of the Officially Unofficial IL State Singlespeed CX Championships. James and Christina won complimentary entry into the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championship weekend being held November 18-20 in San Francisco as well as round-trip airfare. If you didn’t know, whomever wins SSWC’s gets to bring the event back to their home city the next year… so good luck and do us proud James & Christina (no pressure)!

– Next up Dan Ryan Woods (DRW). No theme this year… just some fast long straight-away CX racing with a little hill thrown in for good measure. Look for the standard course preview on Thursday.

– Just a heads up for this weekend… the Chicago Marathon is again being run (literally) the same day as DRW on Sunday. Please plan your travel times to the race accordingly.

– Hopkins Park was dry… but did you get your bike dirty somewhere else? Iron Cycles is still running their bike cleaning special.

– We have been asked by our promoters and officials to again remind everyone that registration closes for each race 30 minutes prior to its start time. This may seem like an arbitrary time cut off, but there’s a lot of stuff that needs to happen in that 30 minutes to get all races started on time (No shows pulled, waitlisted riders entered, start sheets printed, riders checked in at the starting grid, call ups prepped, donuts consumed, tires inflated, chains lubed… sorry, we got lost… where were we? Oh right, 30 minutes… Do yourself and everyone else a favor and just get yourself to reg on time. Arriving to pick up your bib number 5 minutes before your race start time and then asking someone to pin your number on is not acceptable and will no longer be tolerated.

– Speaking of registering… there are only a handful of spots left in the Cat 4A race. Get in there now if you want to race.

– CCC Series Director Jason Knauff was profiled on CX Magazine.

– Speaking of the New Years Resolution… Jason took a scouting trip to the East coast to visit the GP of Gloucester this past weekend. While very disappointed with New Englanders’ hand up and heckling skills, he did bring back quite a few best practices ideas… so look for them soon in the CCC as we prepare for our big show on New Years. Jason also had a chance to chat with a few pros and their handlers about racing in Chicago. Updates coming soon.

– Speaking of handling… thanks to Spidermonkey Cycling for handling our merchandise distribution at Hopkins Park. We only have a few tshirts left, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. Socks are on the way and Embro is here now. All items are pre-order only.

– In case you missed it… our friends at CrossResults.com have introduced their Cross Clash. Check it out and challenge your friends or mortal enemies to a season long competition.

– There’s a new Blue Steel in town… but we always appreciate classics.

– And finally… we know there are quite a few carbonated hops flavored beverage enthusiasts racing (and lets be honest… heckling) in the CCC. If you happen to be out in Utah, maybe bring back some of this for everyone to enjoy?!?! HT Rhythm Racing‘s Michael Shea.